Many sports involve striking a ball or other object with a club, bat, paddle, racket, or other striking member. As participants in these sports work to improve their abilities, most strive to improve their “swing plane.” Generally speaking, an athlete participating in such a sport wishes to swing the striking member around his or her body, while keeping the striking member along a predefined plane, known as the swing plane. A proper swing plane is an imaginary plane aligned with the path of intended ball flight. As the athlete swings the striking member, the striking member should remain adjacent to the proper swing plane throughout the duration of the swing. As is evident, variance from the proper swing plane during the swing increases the probability of miss-hitting the ball. An athlete trained to maintain the proper swing plane throughout the swing will not only miss-hit the ball less often, but the resultant error from a miss-hit will also be reduced.
In striving to teach athletes to maintain a proper swing plane throughout the swing, some have simulated the imaginary swing plane with a swing plane component, such as a plastic window pane, piece of plywood, or other thin, planar material with a hole cut through the center of it. This swing plane component is placed with the athlete standing in the hole and angled to simulate the proper swing plane for the athlete participating in that particular sport. Once fixed in the appropriate position, the athlete practices the swing plane by repeatedly swinging a striking member, such as a golf club, baseball bat, or other similar piece of equipment, while keeping the striking member adjacent to the swing plane component throughout the swing. With repeated practice using the swing plane component, the intended result is that when the swing plane component is removed, the athlete will maintain the proper swing plane throughout the swing, thereby improving performance in the desired activity.
However, problems often arise when using a swing plane component. For example, the athlete may wish to keep the striking member in contact with the swing plane component. However, such contact could cause unnecessary wear on the striking member, cause injury to the athlete, and/or provide inadequate or incorrect feedback regarding the athlete's swing plane.
Alternatively, the athlete may wish to maintain the striking member a predetermined distance from the swing plane component, to allow freedom of motion throughout the swing. However, problems arise as it may become difficult to receive adequate feedback while maintaining concentration on striking a ball. Such a configuration reduces the effectiveness of the swing plane component.
Additionally, while the swing plane component provides feedback on the swing plane, it provides little feedback regarding the position of the athlete's arms, hands, shoulders, the striking member, etc. at various points on the swing in relation to the swing plane. Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.